Two In One
by JTHMManson4
Summary: Meet John Canteen. The average civilian- All until the nightmares decide to hit. Then life dares to get more interesting, throwing him directly into its ups and downs at the age of 19, all the way up to current times.


Eridanus II.

It was the average planet—busting with life, people conversing, shopping, laughing, and going about their days in whatever situation they found themselves in.

At least it had been like this—until the alien alliance, the Covenant, had passed it by and left it in utter ruins in 2530. Majority of the people had been killed off; save for a few hundred that were scattered through space on different planets.

How was this possible, some lives being spared?

It was made possible by one particular man-

Travis Canteen.

A UNSC Marine brave enough had managed to snag a couple of ships for that amount of people—almost nearby getting suspended from service due to it.

Nevertheless, the people were now safe up to this very day.

Travis's nephew, John, hadn't been the same since then. The 40-some year old man still had dreams, nightmares up to this point about the event. It had wiped out majority of everyone he had happened to know—It absolutely stung his heart.

Red, purple, blue blood had splattered everywhere that day-

His mind couldn't erase it.

But what made it stick around for even longer, had been strange dreams in their own right. He kept on seeing a strange man—all donned in olive MJOLNIR armor. The man moved quite swiftly, cutting down whatever Covenant opposition there was—and was hailed as a hero and powerful soldier of the UNSC because of it.

A legendary Spartan II.

Unrest, some sort of depression had set into John due to all of this. He had only been 19 at the time, barely having started college for being a computer technician.

He had been always so good with his hands, so that had been easy enough for him. It was a good challenge too—never a field to run into a dead end of no more learning.

But then of course, the attack had happened.

John's paintbrush dipped into a small container and was able to touch the page—but he heard a bird chirping outside. Briefly, he paused to let a smile fall onto his weary face.

"Hello, little thing…"

His voice was gentle, yet deep, as he turned a little to see it sitting outside of the window nearby. A sigh exited through his nose, as he let the thought of wanting things to be a lot more simpler. Sure, the Human-Covenant conflict was nasty, but he wanted the ease of mind finally.

Stupid Spartan.

He shook his head—allowing himself to turn now and push himself to paint a blue line onto his canvas, the simple action helping to soothe him.

Art.

What a wondrous thing.

The colors danced across the canvas, shaping the water so far in a variety of shades. He was painting an ocean, along a beach. It would be a lonely beach when he would finish, but he had a thought of maybe, just MAYBE, putting in some people along the bottom. He didn't quite know just yet….

 _"John? Do you want to talk about your father's dea—"_

 _"Don't say it." The 19 year old demanded, as he looked over to the therapist, rubbing at his starting-to-scab knuckles from yesterday._

 _She looked at him with concern, particularly focusing on his hand. From what she understood, he had always been a rowdy child, but this.. His actions seemed to spring up from that time period, once again. "..Alright. Let's start off with something simpler. What happened yesterday?"_

 _John looked away at this point. He didn't speak._

 _"John?"_

 _There was a few silent moments before the teenager decided to speak up. "…I punched someone."His tone was uneasily, but guarded._

 _"Who?"_

 _"Just…."_

 _She waited patiently, not even paying attention to her clipboard._

 _"Just…. Someone from on the side of the street."_

 _"Why?" It wasn't judgmental._

 _"Because he talked about—" It finished off into a mumble._

 _"You'll have to speak up."_

 _"… Mocked my dad, alright?" John glared._

 _She frowned. "..I'm sorry to hear that. Let's move onto something else for now. Are you planning to go back to college?"_

 _A huff. "..What's the point? All my friends—" He abruptly cut himself off. He looked down at the ground._

 _"I know." She whispered in pure understanding. "I believe you were going for being a computer technician, right?"_

 _"Yeah, what's your point?" Not in a smartass tone however._

 _"Why don't you continue?"_

 _He clenched his jaw a bit, not bothering to answer. His dreams, his nightmares. There were even more painful than the loss of his father._

 _"John, I want you to try something, would you be willing to do it?"_

 _He didn't answer._

 _Without waiting for an answer, she got up and walked over to a cabinet. She pulled out some art supplies, now setting them on top of a table between her and John._

 _"I would like you to try this."_

 _He looked at her uncertain, but she just smiled._

It had been some time since John had last seen her, sadly. He had been able to learn how to cope with everything due to her; he couldn't thank her enough.

He knew now who to put on the beach—

His father and therapist.

"JOHN!"

The brown haired man poked his head up, casting his eyes over to the doorway. His wife, Molly, and her voice sounded urgent for some reason.

"What?"

"Come here, quick! It's Maggie!"

Instantly, the artist dropped his brush and rushed out to his wife. What he saw was his youngest in the living room, crying silently. "Mommy… I-It hurts…" She was holding her ankle, as Molly kept rubbing her back with a hand.

"It'll be okay…" She comforted, as she tossed her eyes up to her husband's. "John…!"

He knelt down, shushing her gently. "…What happened?"

Maggie sniffed a bit, watery eyes flickering. "I…I… was playing with Steven's s-skateboard…" Her brother.

John nodded, leaping up. "I'll go get some ice."

"O-Okay, daddy.."

"It'll be okay, sweetheart.." He gritted his teeth a bit, annoyed. Didn't he tell Steven to keep his skateboard away? Within a heartbeat, the man got some ice and put it into a ziplock bag. Then he popped open a drawer, yanking out a towel—

With that done, he rushed back out to his daughter.

Gently, he reached out and placed it onto her ankle. "Is it just sprained?"

"Yeah, I made sure it was, dear." Molly spoke up.

A sigh blew out of his mouth. Good. "Where's Steven?"

She furrowed her brows. "….Don't frighten him again." She warned with a steady face.

John momentarily froze as he got up. "…I'll try not to."

She trusted her husband—but he had a habit punching out the wall or kicking a few items a few times when speaking to his oldest. Thankfully never at Steven.

"…Good, I'm glad, John."

He nodded at her. "Now.. where is he?"

"I'm not entirely sure—I think out with friends." She motioned for John to come over, and he did. She shifted her daughter to lay on him instead of her. "I need to start dinner. It's my turn, remember~?"

John chuckled, smiling. "Yeah, yeah… thought you liked my crabcakes last night, though?"

She giggled. "I did, honey." She placed a kiss onto his cheek before racing out to the kitchen. "Not better than mine!" She joked.

"You wish they were better than mine!" He retorted.

She poked her head out of the room. "This argument again?" Her tone was light. "Fine, suffer from eating 2nd place spaghetti then."

"Hey! Now that's definitely first place."

She grinned, going back to her business of preparation.

John shook his head amusedly, turning his attention back to his daughter. "..Why don't we put on your favorite show? It's about time, isn't it?" He briefly looked at the clock sitting on the wall, LED numbers seemingly hovering in place.

"Y-Yeah.. it is." She attempted to smile.

He cleared his throat. "TV, on."

It suddenly flickered to life, displaying a variety of colors, telling its story. "Channe—" What he saw stopped him right in his tracks.

"….Volume up."

It went up, just as the local newsreporter flashed across the screen. "Breaking News, Tom. It seems some strange lights were spotted within the sky earlier today, and now they've become a bit clearer. Flashes of purple had appeared, but we're currently trying to get a better look into space, as I speak."

Pots and pans banged a bit in the kitchen, Molly oblivious to the news.

"Daddy, what's wrong?"

John had been staring intently at the TV for a good two minutes, as they started to show pictures and footage of the lights within the sky, some even trying to form a shape.

"Daddy!" She called out again, causing him now to snap out of it.

"Uh? Sorry, dear.."

She hugged her father. "A-Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just…. It's strange."

Of course, Maggie knew nothing of what happened in 2530, though she had heard snippets from her father. She wasn't old enough just yet to understand the gravity of it all; it was so much. Especially about the on-going War.

She was only 11.

"Y-You don't think that—" Maggie tried to say, eyes wide now, curious, yet a bit unsettled.

John laughed a bit, shaking his head. "It's… It's probably nothing, I mean…" Purple lights in the sky had been the same thing he heard about on Eridanus II.

"This just in." The newsreporter suddenly interrupted. "The satellites are all but destroyed in the atmosphere surrounding the planet. All we have is this remaining footage from right when they had gotten destroyed—"

A clip suddenly flashed onto the screen, playing out a sense of normalcy, the deep rich black of space sitting peacefully—then a plasma beam shot through it towards the camera.

A serious expression settled onto the reporter's face. "This is a planet CODE ORANGE. Everyone is to remain calm as possible, as we release further updates on the situation."

"SHIT!" John suddenly exclaimed, a bit roughly getting out from underneath Maggie, only half hearing a cry of protest coming from her.

"Daddy…" She pouted.

"..Sorry—" John soon enough launched himself off the couch, though as an afterthought—"Don't turn the channel!"

With a sense of worry, Maggie looked into the direction of her father, before snapping her eyes back to the TV. "W-What's going on…" She muttered to herself, right in the moment forgetting about her injury and how it stung. "…A-Aliens?"

She didn't want to see her mommy or daddy getting hurt.

Was it the Covenant, or something worse? Anxiety decided to settle within her stomach for the time being, though she silently kept a note of where her parents were.

"WHERE"S STEVEN?" John loudly demanded, as soon as he stepped into the kitchen.

Molly was now stirring some noodles into a pot, and blinked over towards her husband, a bit startled. "What's wrong, dear…?"

"You said you didn't know!?"

"I just asked you something!"

"T-The…." John rubbed a hand down his face. His anxieties wanting to overwhelm right in that moment.. but he knew he had to find his son. "The Covenant may be here, above the planet."

"Wait, WHAT?" Molly immediately dropped her spoon onto the floor, it forgotten.

"Yes! That's why I need to find…."

Molly stepped forward and hugged her significant other, letting it do its work. "I'm here, John…I-It'll be okay…"

Her hugs were always welcomed.. Her touch always made him more calm. "Thank you…" He muttered back at her.

She smiled, then fell into thought. "From what I recall… Steven might be at the movies."

"With who?"

"Jared, I think."

He breathed out a shaky sigh. He could work with this. "…Which theatre?"

"The one just a few blocks away."

"T-Then…. There's still time…"

"Yeah." She whispered. "I know you can do it."

John nodded, pulling away from her. He took no time rushing into the living room, and in a flash, he pulled on an old coat. "I-I'll be right back, honey, okay?"

Maggie didn't blink, only stared. "….It's them, isn't it?"

Without answering— "We'll be okay, alright?" With those words said, he yanked open the front door.

Outside.

It was like a deserted wasteland, but only with signs of civilization. Everyone must be inside, huddled close to their families, keeping safe as possible, he thought. Tears threatened to spill out of his eyes from remembering that day when they all had to leave his home planet—fuck.

Torched bodies lad lain out-

Blood from people he knew.

Torn off limbs.

His breathing was shallow as he reminisced, but he only just realized it once he was brought out of his thoughts at a loud crash off to his right. Smoke billowed upwards from that spot—his estimation, it was the town's outer limits.

And to think he had to dart within that direction, a few blocks down.

Frozen.

Frozen to spot, until he decided to rip away from that status and dart for his life. He could feel a slight breeze hitting him in the face and body from the crash, but paid no mind.

His breathing a bit rough from running fast as possible—CLEARLY not fast as that strange Spartan he reminded himself—he had to skid to a halt a few feet from the targeted building. Widened eyes peered towards what was in front of him—

It was a strange creature.

John swallowed hard, wanting to cower away, yet fight it somehow. What was it called again? Grunt? Unggoy?

Hell, it wasn't even paying attention to him…

His heart was racing, this was the same THING that destroyed so many lives. The same thing he saw in his nightmares and dreams. I-It…. looked easy enough to handle.

 _Alright… Here goes nothing._

John bolted towards the alien, aiming to knock it down to the ground to buy some time. He did so and hard as he could within a short span of a few moments.

"TAKE THAT!" He yelled, as it tried to scramble back up, trying to regain its senses. He took no mind towards it once he was past it and into the building.

Steven.

He had to be here somewhere, didn't he?

"Steven!" He hissed in a loud whisper, dismayed when absolutely no response came back.

A sigh, as he furrowed his brows, going deeper into the building.

His eyes quickly scanned each room, even as he dared to enter into each of them for brief seconds of time. Seven rooms—and nothing so far.

Nothing.

He wanted to scream, but he'd probably give his location if he did just that.

DAMN IT!

Just then, he had to make himself freeze to spot. He heard the alien footsteps off to his right—so he took a quick duck into one of the rooms, hoping not to be discovered. If so, he'd act accordingly. Another swallow just as hard as before.

"Guys.. Ssshhh…"

John had to force himself to relax a little upon that voice. Human. No, wait—He poked his head out of the room.

There was his son—

"Steven—" He whispered out towards him and his little group of friends, but it was too late. The grunt was pointing his plasma pistol right at Steven who was unable to move.

N-No….

Not again.

NOT AGAIN!


End file.
